• Journal of Wetlands Research
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.286-294
• /
• 2020

This study aims to economically evaluate rice production and various ecological services provided by organic rice paddy carrying out rice-fish mixed farming. It was also conducted to find a stable structure for increasing the income of rice-producing farmers and promoting ecological services by evaluating the economic feasibility of organic rice paddy for rice-fish mixed farming. As a result of the analysis of expected effects by ecological service functions according to the types of agriculture in the rice-fish mixed farming, general conventional paddy fields were evaluated to have an effect of continuously decreasing biodiversity such as amphibian reptiles, aquatic insects, bird habitats, experience and ecological education, and vegetation diversity, while the biodiversity of organic and rice-fish mixed paddy fields was assessed to increase. As a result of evaluating the economic value, as the area for fish production increases compared to the common practice and organic paddy fields, rice production decreases, but fish production increases and total income was analyzed to increase. In addition, if the value of ecosystem service functions is assessed in the future, it will increase further. It is hoped that these findings will be used as basic data for solving oversupply problems in the rice industry, preserving safe farm income, and improving sustainable farming and ecosystem service functions.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.95-126
• /
• 2001

Functional values for wastewater treatment and atmospheric regulation in coastal wetland and rice paddy ecosystems are quantified, and an illustration is given on how to integrate biophysical parameters into a valuation framework. This is one of most controversial issues in economic analysis for wetland preservation versus wetland conversion to agricultural use. This paper includes theoretical considerations for estimating functional values of environmental ecosystems, and the integration of biophysical data and replacement cost method employed. Specific physical and geographical characteristics and data on ecosystem functions and services in coastal wetlands and rice paddies are addressed for evaluating their values in economic terms. In particular this paper indicates double counting problems and overestimation in the previous studies, and demonstrates how to avoid them and to maintain the consistency of valuation process involving a least-cost method, thus enables an accurate integration of the coastal wetland ecology and wetland economics. As a result which is far away from the previous studies, the total economic present value of wastewater assimilation by coastal wetland is estimated at 7,484,640 won/ha, and the net present value of positive effect for atmospheric regulation, negative effects for air pollution and water pollution by rice paddy is estimated at -37,934 won/ha, assuming that resources are infinitely long-lived and the annual value and the rate of discount (10%) is constant every year. In conclusion, for further reliability and validity of functional values for natural resources it is very noteworthy that a general equilibrium framework that could directly incorporate the interdependence between ecosystem functions and services would be preferred to the partial equilibrium framework.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
• /
• v.50 no.2
• /
• pp.257-270
• /
• 2023

The paddy environment is classified as a wetland and occupies a very large proportion of the freshwater environment. It is also ecologically important as a habitat and spawning ground for many aquatic insects and amphibian larvae. However, due to climate change and indiscriminate spraying of pesticides, the rice field ecosystem is continuously threatened. In order to restore ecologically damaged rice paddies in the future, information on organisms living in the rice paddy ecosystem, which can serve as a restoration standard, is needed. The eDNA metabarcoding analysis method is a very effective means of accumulating information on many organisms living in the rice field ecosystem because it can indirectly identify the existence of taxa that are no longer found in the target ecosystem due to different adult life periods or metamorphosis. In this study, genes of four species of frogs and nine species of aquatic insects were also discovered, and some taxa were directly discovered in the field. A large number of taxa have been discovered only by DNA searches, and traditional survey methods have only been able to identify very limited taxa. This eDNA-based paddy field biosearch is expected to be very useful in the investigation of biodiversity in agricultural ecosystems due to its strong analytical resolution.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
• /
• v.32 no.2
• /
• pp.155-165
• /
• 2013

BACKGROUND: Rice paddies not only produce food but also provides wildlife habitats. Although more than half agricultural land of South Korea is rice paddy, a few studies have been conducted in rice paddy ecosystem. We investigated a status of bird using a rice paddy in South Korea using published data. METHODS AND RESULTS: Birds using a rice paddy have been defined as birds which breed, rest or forage on rice paddy, bank, reservoirs or irrigation ditches. According to the publication from 1980s, birds using a rice paddy were total 47 families 279 species. Scolopacidae and Charadriidae (18%), Falconidae, Accipitridae and Strigidae (12%) and Anatidae (11%) used a rice paddy. Half of bird species using a rice paddy visited a dried rice paddy during the winter and 39.4% of them used a flooded rice paddy in spring, autumn or summer. Dependency on a rice paddy was high in ducks, egrets, cranes, and shorebirds. Population of dabbling ducks has decreased for last 12 years while cranes have increased. CONCLUSION(S): Rice paddies provide both migratory and terrestrial birds including endangered species for habitate all through the year in Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
• /
• v.16 no.5
• /
• pp.19-26
• /
• 2013

This study was carried out to provide preliminary data for increasing biodiversity in agricultural ecosystem and investigate availability of using Tubificidae spp. for environment-friendly agriculture through the survey of growth of Tubificidae spp. in flooded paddy fields during winter. We estimated the number of Tubificidae spp. in rice paddy where had been flooded during the previous winter in Ganghwa-gun, Suwon-si, and Hwaseong-si (Bongdam-eup and Paltan-myeon) between March and April from 2010 to 2012. During growing period of rice, the number of Tubificidae spp. was compared between flooded and non-flooded paddy field in Ganghwa-gun. As results, mean density of Tubificidae spp. in winter flooded paddy field was 7,235.5 $ind./m^2$ in Ganghwa-gun, 14,347.5 $ind./m^2$ in Suwon-si, 59,989.9 $ind./m^2$ in Bongdam-eup, and 2,610.6 $ind./m^2$ in Paltan-myeon. Mean density of Tubificidae spp. was the highest in flooded paddy fields of Bongdam-eup that was kept wet until rice harvest time and had shallow water. While mean density was the lowest in Paltan-myeon where had deep water and later flooded paddy field than others. In Ganghwa-gun, during growing period of rice, mean density of Tubificidae spp. in flooded paddy fields (171,109.0 $ind./m^2$) and flooded fallow paddy fields (321,084.2 $ind./m^2$) was much higher than non-flooded paddy fields (1,006.6 $ind./m^2$). Flooded paddy field during winter can help increase the number of Tubificidae spp. which can control weeds and enhance biodiversity in paddy fields for environment-friendly agriculture. Early flooding and shallow water of paddy fields could be a good agriculture practice to encourage the growth of Tubificidae spp..

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.273-281
• /
• 2013

Based on the results of continuous flux measurements at the Gimje paddy flux site in the southwestern coast of Korea, carbon dioxide and energy exchanges between customarily cultivated rice-barley double cropping paddy field and the atmosphere during the 2012 rice growing season (from $9^{th}$ Jun. 2012 through $20^{th}$ Oct. 2012) were analyzed. Carbon dioxide and energy (H, LE) fluxes were estimated by the eddy covariance method. Environmental parameters (net radiation, precipitation, etc.) and plant biomass (LAI, plant height, etc.) were measured along with fluxes. After the quality control and gap-filling, the observed fluxes were analyzed. The results have been showed that net ecosystem exchange (NEE), gross primary production (GPP), and ecosystem respiration (Re) during the rice cropping period were -277.1, 710.3, and 433.2 g C $m^{-2}$, respectively.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
• /
• v.59 no.4
• /
• pp.27-42
• /
• 2017

The global rise in atmospheric $CO_2$ concentration and its associated climate change have significant effects on agricultural productivity and hydrological cycle. For food security and agricultural water resources planning, it is critical to investigate the impact of climate change on changes in agricultural productivity and water consumption. APEX-Paddy model, which is the modified version of APEX (Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender) model for paddy ecosystem, was used to evaluate rice productivity and evapotranspiration based on climate change scenario. Two study areas (Gimjae, Icheon) were selected and the input dataset was obtained from the literature. RCP (Representitive Concentration Pathways) based climate change scenarios were provided by KMA (Korean Meteorological Administration). Rice yield data from 1997 to 2015 were used to validate APEX-Paddy model. The effects of climate change were evaluated at a 30-year interval, such as the 1990s (historical, 1976~2005), the 2025s (2011~2040), the 2055s (2041~2070), and the 2085s (2071~2100). Climate change scenarios showed that the overall evapotranspiration in the 2085s reduced from 10.5 % to 16.3 %. The evaporations were reduced from 15.6 % to 21.7 % due to shortend growth period, the transpirations were reduced from 0.0% to 24.2 % due to increased $CO_2$ concentration and shortend growth period. In case of rice yield, in the 2085s were reduced from 6.0% to 25.0 % compared with the ones in the 1990s. The findings of this study would play a significant role as the basics for evaluating the vulnerability of paddy rice productivity and water management plan against climate change.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.51-60
• /
• 2003

Rice, which occupies about 60% of the farmland in Korea, is a staple crop in Asia. It not only absorbs $CO_2$ from the atmosphere, but also emits carbon in a form of CH$_4$. It has a potential role in the global budget of greenhouse gases because of its relative contributions of carbon absorption and emission associated with changing hydrologic cycle. To better understand its current and future role, seasonal variations of energy and $CO_2$ exchange in this critical ecosystem need to be quantified. The purpose of this study was to measure, document and understand the exchange of energy and $CO_2$ in a typical rice paddy in Korea throughout the whole growing season. Since late April of 2002, we have conducted measurements of energy and $CO_2$ exchange in a rural rice paddy at Hari site, one of the Korea regional network of tower flux measurement (KoFlux). After the quality control and gap-filling, the observed fluxes were analyzed in the context of micrometeorology and biophysics. $CO_2$ and energy exchanges varied significantly with land cover changes (e.g., plant growth stages), in addition to changes in weather and climate conditions. This study, reporting first direct measurement of energy and $CO_2$ exchange over a rice paddy in Korea, would serve as a useful database as one of the reference sites in AsiaFlux and FLUXNET.

• Atmosphere
• /
• v.29 no.4
• /
• pp.355-365
• /
• 2019

Based on in-situ monitoring data produced by National Institute of Meteorological Sciences, we evaluated the performance of Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES) on the surface energy balance for rice-paddy and cropland in Korea with the operational ancillary data used for Unified Model (UM) Local Data Assimilation and Prediction System (LDAPS) (CTL) and the high-resolution ancillary data from external sources (EXP). For these experiments, we employed the one-year (March 2015~February 2016) observations of eddy-covariance fluxes and soil moisture contents from a double-cropping rice-paddy in BoSeong and a cropland in AnDong. On the rice-paddy site the model performed better in the CTL experiment except for the sensible heat flux, and the latent heat flux was underestimated in both of experiments which can be inferred that the model represents flood-irrigated surface poorly. On the cropland site the model performance of the EXP experiment was worse than that of CTL experiment related to unrealistic surface type fractions. The pattern of the modeled soil moisture was similar to the observation but more variable in time. Our results shed a light on that 1) the improvement of land scheme for the flood-irrigated rice-paddy and 2) the construction of appropriate high-resolution ancillary data should be considered in the future research.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.11-23
• /
• 2018

The purpose of this study is to identify the ecological characteristics and biological interactions between species of the abandoned rice paddy field in mountainous areas and to suggest a management strategy for stable food chain formation and biodiversity enhancement. The study site is located in Uldae wetland of Songchu district Bukhansan National Park, site characteristics and biological habitat characteristics were identified through site survey and literature survey. With regard to physical environment, among geographical features, the Uldae Wetland and the neighborhood inside the basin was a gently sloping area($5{\sim}15^{\circ}$). And 64.0% of basin faced the north. With regard to water environment, the Uldae Wetland was wetland of rainfed paddy field depending on precipitation and the system of stream flowing into the wetland from valley. According to the results of examining flora in plant ecology, in general, they were herbaceous wetland species. 88.6% of existing plants inside the Uldae Wetland basin was a forest in the mountain. And Quercus spp. community and Pinus densiflora community accounted for 64.6% of that, and was dominant. Except for that, Salix koreensis community was distributed. The existing vegetation of Uldae Wetland inhabited wetland species and terrestrialization indicator species, and it was thought that partial terrestrialization inside the Uldae Wetland was in progress after the discontinuation of paddy cultivation, such as the expansion of Salix koreensis distribution area. In the status of appearing faunae in the Uldae Wetland with regard to wildbirds of appearing principal species, The Uldae wetland was based on a abandoned rice paddy field various wildlife, and was a wildlife feeding, spawning, and resting place. The water environment was an important factor in maintaining the wetland living creatures function, habitat of waterbirds and benthic macroinvertebrates, amphibians and odonate are spawning ground and habitat, it was affecting the vegetation ecosystem based on wetlands. In order to maintain the diversity of wildlife, it was important to maintain smooth water supply and water level. A stable food chain will be formed and the Uldae wetland biodiversity will be abundant by establishing the relationship between the species of Uldae wetland, which is abandoned rice paddy field, and the habitat environment favored by species belonging to the ecosystem stepwise linkage. The ecological characteristics of the Uldae wetlands and the relation between the species were analyzed and the environmental conditions were reflected in the planning and management plan of Uldae wetland ecology.